faqs

choosing a suffix

what is the best domain suffix for a new business?

The most commonly known domain suffixes are .com and .co.uk. For easy recognition and branding, you would normally want to use one of these. For UK businesses, we would generally recommend using .co.uk whereas if you are intending to trade overseas and don't want to be considered as primarily a UK company we would suggest that you pick a .com.

I can't get the .co.uk domain to match my company name - what can I do?

There is a specially reserved domain type for registered companies and, if you have a limited company (Ltd) you can be quite sure that the domain name yourcompany.ltd.uk is available. This domain type was specifically created to put right the damage caused by insufficient control in the early days of domain registrations. The domain type .co.uk was intended for businesses but no checks were made on the nature of the people who were registering. If you register a .ltd.uk domain it must be made in the name of your company and the application will not be allowed until it has been checked against Companies House records. When you see a domain ending in .ltd.uk you can be sure that it is a legally registered company.

For public limited companies a similar option exists, with the same rules and controls. The option in this case is .plc.uk.

what is the best domain suffix for a non-profit organisation?

We would recommend that you try to register a .org (or a .org.uk). This domain type suggests that you are not a commercial organisation and your information may be considered less biased.

can I register more than one suffix with my domain name?

Yes you can. For companies with large ambitions, we recommend that you register at least .com and .co.uk. This will protect you from having another site trading off your success, and if the domain is available to register today, it may be cheaper in the long run then having to buy it back off a dealer.

can I register variations on my domain name?

If you intend to make use internet as a primary means of trading you may do well to register variations on your domain and have them forward traffic to your main domain/website. For instance, you may choose to register an obvious misspelling, jonsmith.co.uk may find it useful to register johnsmith.co.uk so that people who type the wrong name still come to the right website. If requested, Duport will set up website and email forwarding for such alternative domains without extra charge.

need more help?

If you find you are unable to answer all of your questions in this section, we are always delighted to hear from you.